News, observations and reader questions about the Oakland Raiders

February 22, 2010

The Raiders announced Monday the creation of a seven-day "Raidercruise" along the Mexican Riviera. Actually, it sounds like a cool idea, even if the Raiders' fortunes since Super Bowl XXXVII have more closely mirrored those of the Titanic than Capt. Stubing's Love Boat.

Or, as a reader named Doug pondered, "How many security guards will be aboard? Will the Mexican government be on alert for each port call? Will Al Davis have a new sweat suit? Will real pirates make an appearance?"

Still, what Raiders diehard wouldn't want to take a week-long vacation and rub elbows with assorted "Raiders legends" on the Lido deck? And does Sebastian Janikowski jump behind the bar, serve up drinks and give you the double-barrel fingers, ala Isaac, your bartender? Will Shane Lechler serve as "Gopher, your Yeoman Purser?" And who plays "Doc?"

Most pressing, will Charo the Cuchi Cuchi Girl be onboard the inaugural Raidercruise?

But I digress. Still sounds cool, methinks. Following is the official release:

The Oakland Raiders are pleased to announce the first ever RAIDERCRUISE, a
seven-day cruise for Raider fans aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas
vessel. The RAIDERCRUISE will embark from Los Angeles on May 2 and make
three stops along the Mexican Riviera before returning on May 9.

Raider Legends will highlight the travel party, hosting events on board throughout
the cruise.

The Mariner of the Seas has a total length of 1,020 feet and a capacity for 3,114
passengers. Part of the Voyager class of cruise ships, the Mariner of the Seas
features state-of-the-art recreational facilities including a rock-climbing wall, ice
skating rink and basketball court.

Travel packages for the RAIDERCRUISE will include a meet and greet with
Raider Legends, photo sessions with the Raiderettes, concerts, shore excursions
and other exclusive events.

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

 Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

 Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

 Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

 Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

 Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

 Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

 Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

 Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

On October 14, The Sacramento Bee will temporarily remove commenting from sacbee.com. While we design the upgrade, we encourage you to tell us what you like and don't like about commenting on sacbee.com and other websites. We've heard from hundreds of you already and we're listening. Please continue to add your thoughts and questions here.
We also encourage you to write Letters to the Editor on this and other topics.

About Raiders Blog and Q&A

Matt Kawahara was born in Sacramento and attended McClatchy High School and UC Berkeley, where he wrote for the independent student paper The Daily Californian. He graduated from Cal in 2010 and started at The Sacramento Bee as a summer intern. He joined The Bee's sports staff in fall 2011.